


The Unbreakable

by Sayhell00



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action, Angst, Everyone is suffering, Family Dynamics, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Gore, Graphic Description, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shance if you squint, Shit Hits The Fan, Torture, Violence, but they are also badass, prison break - Freeform, return of the champion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-01-22 15:57:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12485352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayhell00/pseuds/Sayhell00
Summary: He was powerless, chained like a dog, unable to help when he was so close. Lance deserved so much better, Lance deserved his mother’s garlic knots, and deserved splashing in puddles, and deserved late night pizza. Lance deserved so much happiness. Shiro could feel tears prick at the back of his eyes, threatening, but he would never allow the Galra to see it.





	1. Chapter 1

They were fighting. Always fighting. The battle had been no harder than what Shiro and his team had become used to by that point. It was a straightforward kind of battle, a swoop in, kick ass and save the planet kind of battle (Lance’s words, not his.) The type of battle that didn’t require Voltron to assemble, too few enemies to make it necessary. It was going well; the team worked like parts of a single organism, it had taken so long to get to this point. Especially after Shiro had come back and especially after Keith had left for a while, too many changes had happened in his absence, so much growing up that he hadn’t witnessed by children that were forced into a war that wasn’t theirs to fight, not really.

The battle was drawing to an end, Shiro could tell, the Galra forces were dwindling, they would finish up, and then they could go back home and continue that game Hunk had invented. Except he shouldn’t have thought that. Except before they could even register it a giant warship warped into the battle. The rest happened too fast, and next thing Shiro knew his stomach filled with stones and his skin was tingling with the ice-cold prick of panic. There was a laugh through the comms, short almost a shout, almost a snort, but mostly a bitter laugh.

‘Fuck.’ Lance's voice rang out, it was all any of them heard before a beam from the ground encased the blue lion in its path, the scream was blood-curdling, but the silence that followed was worse. Shiro heard the panic in his comms before it could settle inside himself, heard the rest of the team screaming, heard them calling for Lance in his silence.  
He’d like to say the decision was based on logic and all that other natural leader stuff that the team expected of him, and that he had thought it through before he made a move. _He would like to say that_. However, he would also like to say that he was only human okay, and what else was Shiro supposed to do when he noticed blue shooting toward that Galra warship? Way too fast, way, _way_ too fast, Lance was in there, and he was not responding. Pidge was screaming his name, her trembling voice heartbreaking in the silence, Hunk was begging, _speak to me, buddy, come on tell me you’re okay._

Shiro would also like to say they he knew Keith would follow him, would like to say that he had the situation and his soldiers under control. He _would_ like to say that. Would like to say hearing Keith’s breathless ‘I’m right behind you’ was no surprise. Except it was. Except Shiro didn’t have in under control, except the sound of blue crashing into the ship was all-consuming, it made black shake around him, it felt like it made the planet below them quake, it made everything quiver. Except for his heart, his heart went still; the comms went silent everyone went silent. It was Keith’s voice again that Shiro heard first.

‘Lance, Lance come on man, answer me!’ the call was desperate. They were all desperate, but there was no reply, Lance was hurt ( _not dead don’t think he’s dead he’s not dead_ ) ‘Shiro we need to hurry.’ Shiro would never tell him, but Keith’s voice was unsteady.

Blue's lower body ripped through the surface of the ship, trapping her in place, even from Shiro’s distance he could see the sparks flying around her, she was hurt, Lance was hurt. Things had spiraled so quickly in the battle. The chaos around them had not stopped more fighter ships were dropping out of the warship and coming in waves right for him and Keith; the team switched tactics from offense to defense. Pidge, Hunk and the castle had their backs as they made their way to Lance. Shiro had tunnel vision, he was still a dobash away from were lance had landed, and Galra were pouring out of the ship to surround the area. Blue's particle barrier- bless her heart- was flickering, trying her best to protect her pilot. Things where bad, she must have sustained a lot of damage (Lance must be hurt, _don’t think about it_ ).

‘Shiro, you must be quick.’ Came Allura’s voice. ‘The blade has overthrown the Galra on the ground, and the inhabitants have their particle beam, get in, get Lance and get out, they’re charging it up right now!’

When black landed she used her tail to whip the Galra solders around Blue off the ship, ‘Keith, you ready?.’ Shiro called.

'Always.' Keith replied.

'We got your backs.' Hunk chimed.

Shiro was out of his seat and running as fast as he could. His legs burned; lungs burned, skin burned, he couldn’t remember the last time he sprinted with this much speed and desperation, was it when he escaped the Galra the first time? The second time? Keith was beside him, sword slicing through the enemy. They worked together to fight their way through the few Galra that had remained. He was outside Blue's barrier in a matter of ticks, more Galra were coming, he could see them pouring out of the doors before either Hunk or Pidge would blast them away, but there was too many, Shiro knew, they wouldn’t be able to stop them all. Hunk and Pidge were trying their hardest in the sky trying to protect both the planet and their team, but there were too many. Blues flickering barrier went down just long enough for them to make it through and opened her jaw. For all the hast, unbelievably Shiro stopped at the cockpit door, a morbid reluctance stopping him in his place, hand on the handle, heart in his throat. What if it was too awful? What if ( _he was not dead don’t think about it don’t think about it_ ). He only hesitated for a tick, but it was still a tick too long, and he cursed himself for the weakness, he opened the door whatever met him, Lance needed him that was all that mattered. The cockpit was illuminated by red emergency lights, static on her screens. Shiro looked at the back of the chair, and he couldn’t really remember the moments between seeing Lances limp arm dangling off the side of the chair and being in front of him deactivating the visor so he could see Lance. Blood was covering half of Lance's face; eyes closed mouth slightly agape. Shiro placed his hand on Lance's neck and tried to ignore the iron grip in his chest at the bright red blood against brown skin, and felt for a pulse. Keith stilled next to him, his breath coming out harsh and labored. An overwhelming sense of relief came over him when he felt a pulse. Shiro's head came down, the top of his helmet resting on the armrest of the pilot seat, his hand cradled Lance's neck. He couldn't pay attention to anything else but Lance, he didn't even register when Keith shifted beside him, opting to observe the Galra closing in around Blue's barrier.

‘Lance,’ he called. ‘Can you hear me, buddy?’ Shiro had no problem carrying Lance if he had to. However, at that moment he wanted nothing more than to have Lance's wonderfully blue eyes meet his. Shiro just wanted Lance awake, just needed him to be awake and responding. There was a stillness as uncertainty filled the air, a silence where Shiro was even afraid to breathe, he felt the stillness in his comms too, as everyone waited, then there was a shift, then a groan, eyelids cracked open.

‘Shiro? Keith?’ Lance’s voice was just a breath, too weak, too tired. There was a collective breath of relief in his comms, Keith's head snapped back towards Lance, the Galra outside were forgotten. Shiro’s hands were shaking, the iron grip on his heart loosened. Lance shifted in his seat, and instantly pain flashed in his face, and a long drawn out whine escaped his lips. Shiro heard alarm through his comms, felt panic shake in his ribcage.

‘Hey, Lance, buddy, you’ve hit your head pretty bad’ Shiro spoke, voice soft and tentative fingers rubbing reassuring circles into Lance’s neck. ‘You think you can move?’

‘Hurt my everything pretty bad, my man.’ Lance croaked a grimace on his lips before bracing his hands on Blue’s controls, he gave himself a moment to take a deep breath and pushed his body out of the chair. A pained and deep groan bounced off Blue's cockpit walls. Shiro and Keith were on him instantly supporting his body weight as he tried to straighten out. Lance let out a rush of breath so forcefully he sounded like he was being winded. ‘ow ow ow _OW!_ ’ Lance whined and looked down searching for the source, Shiro’s eyes followed his line of sight, but they couldn’t see anything. There was a visible crack in the armor on Lances left leg, but it obscured the view, apart from the blood against the white armor Shiro couldn't gauge the damage.

‘I really hope that hurts worse than it is.’ Lance muttered, ragged breaths ripping through him as he tried to breathe through the pain.

‘You’ll be okay, okay?’ Shiro comforted, ‘we’ll get you into a pod in no time, you’ll wake up tomorrow with just a scar.’ Shiro said his eyes darted to Keith, looking for his input only to notice Keith's pale, stricken face not looking at Lance at all. Instead, his wide eyes were focused on the pilot seat. Shiro's stomach dropped when he saw the blood covering Lance's chair. It came from the crack in the armor, meaning that the damage was grave, the amount of blood was sickening, and an urgency possessed Shiro.

‘what’s going on?!’ Allura called through the comms, ‘Lance needs a pod? What’s the damage?’ Shiro could hear the concern in her voice, no doubt she was worried out of her mind.

‘I’m fine Allura,’ lance replied. _Not for long_ , Shiro morbidly thought. Shiro could hear an enthusiastic ‘Lance!’ coming from the comms from both Pidge and Hunk.  
‘I hurt my leg, but it’s nothing a little alien magic won’t fix.’

‘It’s not magic.’ Chipped Coran.

‘Gotta watch your head too Lance,’ Shiro added, ‘could be a concussion.’ Lance chuckled, putting on arm around Shiro's shoulders to begin walking.

‘Like I said, Alian magic.’ He added.

‘I'm glad to hear you are okay Lance.' Allura said, her voice soft and fond before instructing them on their next move. 'You have ten minutes paladins before the beam is charged, please get to the black lion and get out!’

'The quicker, the better’ Keith added adjusting his arms around Lance's waist as they sped up ignoring Lance's gasp of pain, had to ignore it, they were running out of time.

‘what about blue?’ Lance gasped as he was practically dragged out of the lion.

‘Black can tow her, its gonna be o-‘ But Shiro's words cut off abruptly as Blue's jaws opened to reveal a crowd outside the barrier, guns pointed right for them.  
‘Blue says the barrier won't hold.’ Lance's voice was a breath. They were so clearly outnumbered Shiro's eyes darted from the Galra in front of him and the Galra making their way towards him while simultaneously avoiding the attack from Hunk and Pidge. Their lions rained down fire to clear a path for them, but there were too many coming from all sides, they were being overwhelmed.

                                                                                                                             ****

Now, Keith wasn’t mad at lance, he _wasn’t_. He was mad that this kept happening to them, as soon as they had one member safe and with them, another member was in trouble. They were trying to save the universe, so why did it hate them so much? He felt as Lance shifted his weight, gently nudging Keith and Shiro away, a show that he could stand by himself, a silent reassurance that he was okay and able to hold his ground. Keith wasn’t too sure about that, there was blood running down Lance’s leg though Keith couldn’t see a wound and the poor idiot had hit his head real bad if the bleeding was anything to go by. That didn't matter to Lance, it never did, after all, idiots never knew when they've had enough. With a fire in his eyes, Lance's Bayard morphed into a gun, and he held it up ready to aim. Keith smirked, the thrill of the fight washed over him, the anticipation felt like electricity through his veins, his eyes cut to the Galra, if it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they'd get.

‘Blue’s on her last leg,’ Lance muttered, sadness clear in his tone. ‘The barrier's gonna crumble.’ As if by queue the blue particle barrier around them flickered one more time before disappearing altogether. The Galra only hesitated a moment in surprise but it was enough time for the paladins to strike first and there was no more time to worry about whether Lance was okay enough to fight. It was a fight now, think later kinda situation.

‘You gonna be okay lance?’ Shiro asked, there was so much noise, swords crashing against Keith's and lasers bussing past his head he wouldn’t have heard it if it wasn’t for the comms.

‘For now.’ Came the reply but Keith could hear it was labored, Next to him lance was keeping up, shooting Galra down and dodging but he must have been in a lot of pain, must’ve been incredibly tired.

‘Please paladins, you must make haste, the beam will be going off any minute now.’ Allura's voice came through the comms.

‘You need to ask them to postpone it, princess, we have our hands full.’ Shiro replied. Keith was only really half listening, the onslaught was brutal, and even with his skills, the Galra soldiers had gotten a good few hits on him as he fought them off. The thrill of fighting had never dulled as his muscles and adrenaline pushed beyond his capabilities to drive off strong arms and push back large bodies, sounds became blurred and sharpened at the same time. It was always like time was slowing down and speeding up, and he could see everything around him. They had fought a small path towards the Black lion. Keith and Shiro were fighting the Galra up close while Lance was shooting any out of arms reach. They were working well together and making progress, just another 10 meters or so and they would have been close enough to Black for her to activate her particle barrier and block them from the Galra soldiers.

‘Hunk, Pidge are you okay?’ Shiro called, ‘Any chance you could give us a hand?’ There was silence for a few moments before pidge replied.

‘we got our hands full Shiro, there's _so many_.’ She was frantic, panicked and trying to hide it but it showed in the tremble of her voice. Before Shiro could tell her it was okay, Allura's strained voice came through the comms.

‘Shiro! You guys have to get off the ship right now! Right now!’ she was speaking fast panic so clear that Keith could see her face scrunched up in terror in his mind’s eye. It made his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. ‘They are going to fire they are going to fire right now! The locals will not listen to me they are too scared, too panicked! Shiro, you need to get out! Hunk! Pidge! Cut through those fighter ships your focus is no longer on defending the ground it is on getting them _off_ that ship, you hear?! we do not have time we do n-‘ Allura stops mid-sentence, she was speaking so fast, god she was so scared. ‘NO!’ Allura screamed, and Keith had to then, had to tear his eyes away from the Galra to look off the ship and towards the ground. It seemed Shiro had the same idea as his voice rang out as soon as Keith noticed it himself, Shiro’s voice so loud that even the Galra soldiers looked, to where the ground was glowing purple.

‘RUN!’ Shiro’s voice rang, and the paladins along with the Galra soldiers turned to run as soon as the beam shot. Keith and Shiro didn’t forget to pull Lance’s arms around their shoulders to aid him as they turned. The beam made an earsplitting screech across the air as it made contact, there was a moment of delay as the beam cut through the Galran metal. The first explosion was too close to them, even as they ran away from it as fast as they could, even though they were ever so close to Black, the force came like a wave over them. It blew them off their feet, and wretched Lanc out of Keiths hold as they went flying. Keith vaguely noticed how Blue was dislodged and falling, how Red was not far behind her, for a moment he was afraid they’ll fallow their lions down, and fall to their deaths. Then his body hit the ground.

He blacked out for a second before his eyes open, and he made a move to stand up only to be stopped by a hand on his wrist. His head snapped down - adrenaline was pumping through his veins, he couldn’t hear anything besides the violent thump thump thump of his heartbeat ringing in his ears- but instead of a hand, he saw a cuff. Instead of being out on the deck of a warship Keith was inside a cell, chained to a wall, movement restricted. It became clear to Keith instantly what situation they had found themselves in as a surge of panic hit him like a tidal wave. Keith felt it in the pits of his stomach, felt it in the depths of his chest as the dread curled around his heart and squeezed. His eyes swept the small cell, and yes, the situation was dire and terrifying, but a flood of selfish relief washed over him when he saw Shiro next to him, only a few feet away and Lance across the room, he wasn’t alone. However, the relief was quickly replaced with trepidation, Keith wasn’t alone, They got Shiro and Lance, and Kieth the memory of Lance's injuries came back with a twist of his stomach that had bile threaten to make its way up. He wasn’t sure how long they had been there, how long Lance was left to bleed on the floor but a little puddle had formed around his leg.

‘Lance, Hey Lance.’ Keith whispered, he didn’t want to alert any soldiers that he had woken up just yet. ‘Buddy, come on, wake up.’ He noted absentmindedly that Shiro had begun to stir next to him, but Keith’s heart was in his throat, his hands balled up into fists and his eyes zeroed in on the blood. Lance had bled too much, his head injury looked something nasty, and he couldn’t see the wound on Lances leg, but the blood was indicator enough that it was too deep. ‘Lance.’ He whisper-shouted, a little too loudly but lance wasn’t responding, and Keith was scared. He wished so badly that Lance was next to him, he could have at least reached out with his leg or something and nudged him, would have at least been close enough to be able to tell if Lance was breathing or not.

‘Lance?’ Shiro's shaky voice whispered next to him. Keith could hear the worry there so dominant on Shiro’s face, in Shiro’s voice it’d be impossible to miss. The was still no response and shouting was out of the question, Keith did the only thing any professional in a crisis did, he pulled off his boot and lobbed it straight into Lances back. Maybe he was frustrated, maybe he was mad because mad was better than scared, maybe he used way more strength in the throw than was strictly necessary. The reaction was instant as Lance's body flinched at the contact and a moan ripped itself from Lance's mouth, Keith might have felt slightly guilty if the throw hadn’t been so effective.

‘Can’t a guy sleep in, just _once_.’ Lance whined, and if he had had any other complaints to voice, they were abruptly cut off when Lance shifted, and his entire body froze, deep, shaky breaths rushed in and out of Lance's lips as he tried with all his might to breath the pain away.

'Buddy.’ Shiro gasped, the word getting twisted in his throat on the way out, like maybe he hadn’t meant to say it out loud like he could feel Lance's pain himself, ‘you’re hurt.’

‘Yeah, no kidding.’ Lance said through gritted teeth, on anyone else it would have sounded biting, on Lance I sounded teasing, a comforting hand reaching out easing them. The effect doesn’t last however as they watch Lance using his trembling arms, and his trembling shoulders to lift himself to a sitting position, back slumped against the wall. It took another dobash until his breathing settled, another dobash with Keith’s breath stuck at the bottom of his lungs, another dobash of Shiro struggling against his chains as if he could break free from will alone. ‘Good news, I can move so maybe nothing's actually broken.’ Lance finally sighed once the pain ebbed away enough for him to finally breath properly.

‘Your leg,’ Shiro commented before Keith had the chance, ‘you gotta stop the bleeding.’ A laugh worked its way from the depths of Lance’s chest only to lightly fill the room, Lance made a show of looking around the dirty, but very much empty, cell. Gesture light as day, _how_? Keith knew, on any given day Lance wouldn’t get away with sassing Shiro this way, but the situation was different, Lance had every reason to be frustrated.

‘Could this suck anymore’ Lance whined, ‘look Shiro don’t give me that look okay, I’m taking this plenty seriously.’ Keith didn’t know how lance read minds through facial expressions so well, but he had obviously hit the ball on the mark when Shiro hung his head, partly frustrated and partly… well, all frustrated, Shiro’s body was stiff like he was rung tight from every muscle.

‘Lance.’ Keith said, head turning from Shiro to look Lance in the eyes, he didn’t know what he wanted to convey through the look, comfort? Strength? ‘Do your chains at least, have enough give for you to look at the wound?’ Keith honestly never knew such a soft voice could come out of his own mouth but here they were, and he could tell that it had an effect. Lance had always responded better to kindness, that was why Hunk invariably got whatever he wanted from him.

The answer was yes, just from looking it was clear the Galra hadn’t been as thorough with Lance as they had been with him or Shiro, mostly he meant to prompt. Lance was usually exceptional in situations like these, level-headed and strategic in a way Keith could have never really predicted. Unfortunately, the day had not been kind, Lance was on his last legs, he looked like hell, the way Lance's eyes were half-lidded and the way he was slumped against the wall displayed a bone-deep exhaustion that sleep alone could not solve.

‘Yeah, yeah you're right.’ Lance reasoned, ‘sorry I-I just can't.. _can’t think._ ’ His voice trembled as he tried to give an explanation that they didn’t need, both Keith and Shiro were not blind to the gash on Lance's forehead, Keith could just imagine the slush that his head was at that moment.

‘Hey, it’s okay buddy.’ Shiro comforted, ‘no need to apologize, you’re trying your best I know you are.’

‘It hurts’ Lance sighed, exhausted.

‘I know.’ Shiro replied, voice so impossibly soft, so impossibly affectionate. If Keith ever had a family, he supposed it would feel like that. Lance didn’t need any more prompting as he lifted the arms that had been tightly pressed into is sides and uncurled his tight fists to clasp at the armor that covered the bottom half of his thigh. His hand hesitated at the clasp, trembling fingers rattled.

‘It’s okay,’ Shiro had comforted in the silence that followed. It was clear Lance didn’t want to see the damage. A couple dobash’s pass where Lance did nothing but breath, his eyes squeezed shut and the sound of the knocking from his shaking hands filling the room, then, finally, he unclasped the armor and pulled way the piece that was supposed to protect his leg. It was every bit as bad as Keith had imagined and then some. The wound was angry and red and deep, but worst of all was the lazy way the blood oozed out of the wound. It was deep, deep enough that Keith could see muscle and could see tendon, his skin was loose around the wound and the wound fell open, honestly? Keith doesn’t remember seeing a wound so raw and gory since… well since ever, it looked like someone had come down on Lance's leg with an axe with all their strength. Keith could hear the gasp fill the room. Did it come from him or Lance or Shiro? Did it come from all three at once? Lance closed his eyes again, and Keith could only guess the poor guy was edging towards a panic attack, it was all too much for them to take in at once. ‘okay.’ Lance muttered under his breath, it wasn’t for anyone to hear it was just for himself, ‘okayokayokay _okay_.’

‘Lance-‘Shiro began.

‘I’m okay.’ Lance cut in, and Keith almost saw red in respond, how could he say that when he so blatantly wasn’t? However, Lances tone was steady with concentration, and it left little space to argue. Before Keith could wrap his mind around the injuries and what the plan was from there on out Lance was taking his boot off. ‘Gotta stop the bleeding.’

‘yeah like I said.’

Lance’s unclasped his shin pad and toed off the boot of his injured leg, then he pinched the under armor, fingers pulled at the fabric until he could fit his fist in the hole around his wound. He lifted it then he yanked, ripping the material of his pants all around his thigh.

‘Nice thinking.’ Shiro praised.

‘I know, I’m pretty awesome.’ Pride was ringing in Lance’s voice. It clicked then that he was aiming at wrapping his wound with it, but when he went to pull the pant off his leg, the chains resounded as Lances pulled them tight, unable to move his hands past his knee, not that it did anything to deter him. Say what you will about Lance, but when he set his mind, he followed through. With only a moment's hesitation, Lance inhaled a deep breath and held it as his uninjured leg bent till his heel was licking the back of his thigh and his hands lifted to grab onto the area where the chains entered wall above his head for support. Then he used his bent leg to push himself off the ground while pulling on the restraints to lift himself until he was standing, the deep breath he had been holding came out of him in a violent exhale, it tampered of in a low, deep groan.

‘You okay?’ Keith and Shiro asked simultaneously, and it drew a laugh out of Lance it was such a stupid question, but I was awful being so close but so helpless to aid Lance. There was nothing Keith could do to make this easier, nothing to help but sit there and watch as Lance tried his damnedest to stay calm.

‘Besides my whole body feeling like its broken, yeah I’m just peachy.’ Lance replied but wasted no time in lifting his injured leg, at this point, he was shaking again, grunts and gasps escaped in spite his bests efforts as he bent over and rolled the material from his knee down his shin and off. He gently lowered himself again, the strain on his face distinct as his featured scrunched up in pain and the vein on his neck popped out as he slid down the wall.

‘Good job.’ Shiro praised, ‘you’re doing great.’ If the roles were reversed that kind of praise would have done nothing to make Keith feel better but he saw the smile play on Lance’s lips as he sat there, panting for a few moments.

‘You think this look will ever take off?’ Lance replied instead of anything constructive, looking ridiculous with one leg clad in armor and the other one exposed from mid-thigh down. It brought a small chuckle out of Shiro.

‘I think that’s a stretch this time, sorry to tell you.’

‘Heh, you’ll see. I’ll work it.’ Lance said as an annoying smirk found its home on his lips as he ripped his pant leg by the seams to make a thick piece of makeshift bandage. ‘wish I had a weapon for a hand right about now.’ He said as he started wrapping his leg with the material.

‘I bet you don’t.’ Shiro said, rolling his shoulder as if to test his own mechanical arm, humor in his voice.

‘Bet I do.’ Came lances reply as he made another tear in the material so he could tie the bandage in place. ‘This shit’s gonna get infected, If I had a flamethrower for a hand, I could cauterize it at last.’

‘Even if you did have my arm, this collar stops you from activating it anyway.’ Shiro said turning his body slightly to show it off.

‘Damn.’ Keith and Lance replied in unison.

‘Yeah damn.'

There was a silence that filled the room. Keith’s eyes studied Lance, he looked exhausted, they probably all did, but Lance looked rung out like he was next on the grim reapers to-do list. Pain flickered on his face every now and again, and Keith could just imagine how much the wound on his thigh was throbbing and half of Lance's face was caked in dried blood, he looked a mess. I was all things to add to his list of motivations to escape as quickly as possible.

‘You two are idiots by the way.’ Lances muttered, voice cutting through the silence and ripping Keith away from his failed attempt at devising a plan.

‘No, we’re not.’ Keith snapped already on the defensive.

‘Are too.’

‘Are not.’ Keith shifted forward only stopped by his chains as he got irritated, maybe Lance would have done the same if he had the energy.

‘Why?’ Shiro asked, his head tilted to the side as he studied Lance, looking for the answer in his face.

‘It was dumb to come after me.’ Keith’s heart did this thing were its beating too fast and pumping his furious blood around his body like fuel to his fire while also sinking to the bottom of his stomach. ‘No, no don’t give me that look I don’t mean it in that way.’ Lance bursts before either of them could interrupt him. ‘Not in an ‘I’m not worthy way’ okay? Just like, _strategically_ , you shouldn’t have come.’  
‘No way, you could have been dead for all we knew!’ Keith growled, he couldn’t help it. Hell, Lance could still die he was too hurt.

‘I know, I know,’ Lance strained, eyebrows furrowed in frustration, ‘but you should have been focusing on the fight, not me, we don’t know what the hell happened to the others, and now, instead of just me, _three_ paladins of Voltron are captured.’

'Good.’

‘Keith, come on, it’s not practical.’

‘No, Keith’s right,’ Shiro added, ‘you’re so injured Lance, it sucks, but I’m glad that at least we’re with you. We’ll manage an escape somehow okay? All three of us will be home before anyone even has the chance to miss us.'

‘We had a chance to miss you.’ Lance says, it’s a cut, it wasn’t meant to be, Keith could tell by the look in Lances eyes, the hurt in them, they said so much in their depths, but it was a cut nonetheless, and Shiro was left speechless. ‘The team,’ Lance carried on voice weak, ‘barely managed without you Shiro, everyone was falling apart, you shouldn’t have come after me.’ The silence filled the room again, Keith turned to look at Shiro and his face, god his face looked distraught, Shiro's eyes were searching Lance’s flicking between his eyes trying to find answers to questions left unsaid.

‘You would have done the same.’ Keith said just to break the god-awful silence.

‘Yeah, but didn’t you know?’ Lance jested, dumb smirk back on his lips, not reaching his eyes. ‘I’m the biggest idiot on the team.’ Shiro snorts, and some of the tension dissolves if only slightly before spiking over the roof with a click coming from the door.

Keith watched with bated breath as the cell door creaked open and three soldiers walked through. The panic that had edged away came back in full force as three pairs of eyes studied them, contempt and hatred apparent in them. Their eyes settled on Lance, body slack against the wall as if he didn’t have the energy to even be afraid at that point, breaths controlled but labored the only thing betraying his fear were his eyes, terrified and large watching back. One of the guards walked until he was between Shiro and Keith, Keith’s heart was in his throat again beating impossibly fast.

‘You.’ Said the Galra taking a step towards Lance, voice sounding female. Keith’s whole body tensed and he pulled against his chains, _nonononononono_. ‘Where are the Lions?’ Keith’s eyes darted from Galra to Lance, and even through the fear, through the panic, Keith could see the humor in his eyes, could see, before his very own eyes Asshole Lance 2.0 activate.

‘Well since you asked so nicely.’ Lance sneered, strength coming back to his voice through spite alone. ‘I'm gonna go ahead and tell you to eat sh-.’ A kick to the face that had Keith jump out of his skin and had Lance fall to his back cut him off, the Galra pressed her heavy boot into Lance's throat and pushed.  
‘I do not have the time or the patience Paladin.’ She growled, ‘I will ask again, where are the rest of the team?’

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was powerless, chained like a dog, unable to help when he was so close. Lance deserved so much better, Lance deserved his mother’s garlic knots, and deserved splashing in puddles, and deserved late night pizza. Lance deserved so much happiness. Shiro could feel tears prick at the back of his eyes, threatening, but he would never allow the Galra to see it.

‘Where are the paladins.’ Demanded the Galra, the heel of her boot pressed against Lance's throat. Lance coughed, or laughed, Shiro couldn’t tell.

  
‘That hurts my feelings, am I not enough for you?’ Lance toyed, a smug smirk played on his lips, the Galra guard next to her lifted the butt of his spear and cracked it against Lance's ribs in punishment. Shiro cringed, of course, Lance would make this worse for himself. ‘No need to be jealous, man, there’s enough of me to go around.’ Lance coughed and wrapped his arms around his rips as the pain of the punishment rushed through his body. The comment earned him another hit, and no matter how hard Lance was trying to seem brave and mighty, Shiro could see he was in so much pain, so much agony, Shiro knew he was afraid, but he also knew Lance would sooner jump into a black hole then show it.

  
‘Please Lance.’ Shiro pleaded quietly, ‘Please don’t provoke them.’ His interruption earned him the butt of a laser gun to his head, but much worse he could see the Galra guard questioning Lance consider him for a second, then a wicked smile grew across her face. She Pulled Lance up to a sitting position by the scruff of his suit and placed a knife against his neck, pressing just slightly so a trickle of blood could be seen running down the blade. Lance was huffing and trying to clear the pain from his face, the movement no doubt aggravating his injuries. For a few ticks, all that could be heard in the cell was Lance's ragged breaths.

‘Black paladin.’ The Galra regarded him, malic in her eyes. ‘If you wish for this one to live you will answer my questions.’

‘Don’t say a word, Shiro.’ Lance yelped, then groaned as the Galra brought down the hilt of the knife to hit him across the head, right on top of the existing wound. The impact opened it up again, and when she placed the knife back against Lance's neck, a dribble of blood made its way down Lance's face. It curved around Lance's jaw and made its way to his chin, where a drop splashed onto his armor. The drop was followed by another, and then another.

‘We were separated!’ Shiro growled through clenched teeth, ‘I don’t know where they are.’ He lied, after the wormhole separation fiasco they had always scheduled a rendezvous point before each mission in case of separation.

  
‘Lies.’ The Galra said, then pushed the knife a little more, cutting into Lance’s neck with meaning this time.

  
‘Lance.’ Keith whined from next to him. This was painful, _excruciating_ to watch. Lance's eyes were screwed shut, teeth bared as if bracing for the moment the knife sliced through his jugular.

  
‘WE DON’T KNOW!’ Shiro bellowed, ‘put the knife away we don’t know anything we-‘ The knife began to slid just a centimeter, Lance's whole body tensed but no sound left him. Shiro had to tell them, he had to, they were going to kill Lance right there. ‘Lance.’ He breathed the fight leaving his voice he couldn’t let them hurt Lance, he _couldn’t_.

‘Don’t.’ Lance rasped, Shiro’s eyes ripped away from Lance’s neck to see that his eyes were open, hard and determined, and afraid, so afraid. ‘Don’t you dare.’ Voice harsher, almost angry _don’t put our team in danger_  it said, _don’t let your emotions overtake reason_. Shiro closed his eyes, collected his thoughts. It wasn’t Lance’s job to be strong right now it was Shiro’s. It was hard for him to reign in the self-hate, the broken record of _you’re not a good enough leader_ , eyes instead, focused on the Galra, defiance written all over his face. The Galra noticed the shift and confusion fluttered in her eyes as she studied the exchange.

‘You need us,’ Shiro growled, ‘Zarkon doesn’t want a dead paladin, you know this to be true.’ Her eyes narrowed, Shiro knew then that he had her. What he couldn’t have known was that she had a bad temper on her, what he couldn’t have known is that she didn’t take too kindly to being told no. Her knife sliced through Lance's throat and Shiro’s heart stopped beating, lungs stopped breathing. Distantly he could hear Keith scream Lance’s name but it was too far away, everything was too far away as Shiro’s eyes zeroed in on Lance’s hands as they clasp his neck, zeroed in on the blood trickling past his fingers. He thought he could hear talking, no someone was talking, Lance was talking.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s shallow it’s okay.’ Lance gasped, words rushing to get out, panic clear in his tone. Shiro’s eyes darted to Lance’s, and he realized he was talking to Keith trying to calm him before he dislocated his damn shoulder in an attempt to get closer, to just get closer, _just a little closer_. Shiro’s eyes shot back to Lance’s neck and saw now after Lance had said, that there wasn’t as much blood as there should be. Shiro could finally breathe again, gasping for air.

‘It’s okay?’ The Galra asked, bemused before she tossed Lance back to the ground and the end of her boot connected with his ribs, then she kicked his hands out of the way before she got down, straddling his chest and curling her fingers around Lance's neck, thumbs rubbing at Lance's windpipe.

'No.' Shiro gasped under his breath before her fingers tightened and her thumbs pushed down, cutting off Lance's air. His whole body tensed, eyes wide and panicked as his fingered tried to pry her's away, the blood from his bleeding wound slowly covered her fingers. Lance's mouth was wide open in an attempt to gulp down air but he couldn't, his good leg was kicking out from under her, trying to buck her off him. Shiro was pulling on his chains, screaming begging _let him go!_ to no avail. All he could do was watch as Lance struggled and gasped under her, all he could do was watch as the energy started to seep out of Lance. The fingers prying at the Galra's hands were slowing down, the leg kicking with less force, the bucking not even able to push off the ground anymore. When his hands started to slip away from hers, her thumbs released the pressure and Lance brought in a heavy, strong and ragged gasp of air, he swallowed large lungfuls of breath until he was coughing around it. She only gave him a few seconds of reprieve before the thumbs were pressing own again and the whole processes repeated. Lance's fingers clawing at hers. Then his left hand shot up, trying to find purchase on her face and he pushed against her chin, pushing her face up and away from him. Her face screwed up, outraged and offended. She shifted her hand on his neck, one large hand covering it just fine to cut off his breathing, the other raised and her elbow came down on Lance's face.

'You dare touch me?' She roared, letting go of his neck a second time. This time as Lance was choking for air, his body turned as much as the Galra's legs allowed and he threw up. The Galra shot up disgusted in an instant. Lance was heaving and coughing and gasping. Saliva was dripping from his mouth, snot running down his face followed by tears from the sting of bile in his throat, she had made a mess of him. 'Disgusting.' The Galra spat as he shoved Lance's shoulder with her boot, pushing him on his back. His arms fell to his side lifelessly, his head lulled towards Shiro. Tired watering eyes met Shiro's. For a moment it was only them in the room. For a moment all that existed was Shiro and Lance. For a moment Shiro could fix this, could help, could comfort Lance with caring eyes that held a promise in their depths. Just for a moment, before the Galra pressed her heel against Lance's throat.

Lance gasped as her boot pressed down, chained hands clawing at her boot, she bent over him until her face was above his, but instead of asking any questions she just enjoyed the view for a few ticks before she lifted her boot to kick Lance across the face. The toe of her boot connected with Lance's jaw, his head flew back, and Keith’s shout echoed along the cell walls. Lance looked utterly out of it, confused, Shiro saw how his eyes were unfocused, his eyes were unseeing like Lance wasn’t there in that cell, like he was somewhere else. Then before he could even process the kick in the head, her boot was coming down again, this time on his ribs. Once, twice, three times knocking the air out of his lungs. The kick to the head was still leaving him reeling, and now the air was literally being kicked out of him. He tried to curl into himself as much as he could but the chains restricted him, and even if they didn’t, she was kicking him like her life depended on it. Shiro’s voice was going raw all he could do was struggle against his chains and scream and beg for mercy, eyes darting everywhere, _escape, escape, escape_ , there has to be a way, has to be, has to be. _Lance, Lance, Lance._

‘Where.’ _Kick_  ‘Are.’ _Kick._  ‘The.’ _Kick._  ‘Lions?’ _Kick._  Lance groaned and huffed and yelped. He was unwound, split open and left bare all bravado gone, all attempt to stay strong gone. A hurt child, a hurt child that Shiro had promised himself, _promised_ , he’d protect. She stopped her onslaught for a moment, putting her foot back to the ground, looking down at Lance. In the moment of reprieve, Lance alternated from clutching at his neck and wrapping his arms around his ribs, unable to think, unable to decide which part of his body to protect. He was struggling to breathe, gasping the breath down like a drowning man, moaning and wheezing. Shiro couldn’t take this, he couldn’t take this about 20 minutes ago when this whole hell had started. Seeing Lance in such a state, happy, brave, supportive and sweet Lance. Lance that felt maybe a little too much, Lance that always worked to win Shiro’s favor, Lance that bought light even in the darkest hours was being tortured, _tortured_. Right in front of Shiro, right in front of him and he was powerless, chained like a dog, unable to help when he was so close. Lance deserved so much better, Lance deserved his mother’s garlic knots, and deserved splashing in puddles, and deserved late night pizza. Lance deserved so much happiness. Shiro could feel tears prick at the back of his eyes, threatening, but he would never allow the Galra to see it. Shiro could hear Keith screaming, rage erupting from him.

‘Stop it. Stop it we don’t know, we don’t know anything.’ He paused, Shiro could see his eyes shine in the light, saw the moister filling them, he took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, opened them and the tears were still there, clinging to his eyelashes, the rage making way for the emotion they were hiding all along. Heartbreak. ‘He’s already hurt, stop it, stop, stop please stop just stop.’ On repeat as he twisted in his chains in vain. Shiro had lost his voice by this point. His voice was no longer his. His body was no longer his. Wide eyes darting between Lance’s struggling form and Keith in chains. Shock. Something at the back of his mind was telling him he was in shock. They were too young, Lance was suffering, suffering so much to protect their friends, to defend their lions and save the universe, Shiro was too young to be their leader, they were just a pack of children playing with the big guns and the big guns had no qualms in destroying them.

The Galra eventually either caught her breath or decided on her next move as she kicked Lance’s right arm away from his ribs and pressed her heels against his outstretched forearm. Lance whimpered at the new direction, left hand holding onto his neck. She leaned over again, cocking her head to the side as she regarded Lance. One of his eyes were swollen shut, his lip was busted and is jaw was swelling too. Lances teeth were clenched, and his face was scrunched up in pain. Before she had hit him the blood on his face had dried up, but the wound on his head had reopened, and new blood flowed over the old. She relished in the blood, snot, and tears running down his face, like a painting. She was enjoying her work Shiro realized, she appreciated it, reveled in the hurt she had caused.

‘Tell me what you know.’ She said an excited smile on her face. Shiro wasn’t sure when her rage had morphed into this amusement, hadn’t been paying enough attention to her for him to notice when the anger had transformed into this sick, twisted, entertainment. She waited for Lance to collect his bearings before adding ‘I won’t ask again.’ Shiro wondered if she even wanted Lance or them to answer her at this point or if she just loved inflicting pain.

‘What I know.’ Lance began, sounding more present, like the confusion from the kicked in the face had ebbed away, and he was back in the room. Shiro could see how Lance's eyes then shut again and he turned his head to look away, tensed his body, he was getting ready for the pain, bracing for it. Shiro also wanted to look away, he wanted to look away and close his ears and stop seeing this, stop hearing it but he at least owed it to Lance to suffer this, since he was useless, the least he could do is not turn his head away. ‘Is that you’re a rude little b-.’ There was a loud crack that filled the room as the Galra lifted her leg and brought it down on Lance’s arm, then came Lance’s scream ringing in Shiro’s ears. That didn’t just happen. Shiro’s heart fell into the pit of his stomach. His stomach twisted, he could taste bile in his throat. That did _not_ just happen. Lance’s arm was still trapped under her foot, and he was screaming and yelling and begging for her to take her foot off. Eyes crying, Lance was sobbing, was weeping, his free hand was pushing her boot desperately. When she finally lifted her boot, he pulled his arm into a cradle against his chest. He wasn’t breathing right he was trembling and shaking and gasping and whining and _not breathing_  correctly.

‘Lance.’ Shiro finally found his voice, he needed to comfort, he needed to calm Lance down ‘Lance you’re okay, you’re okay, it’ll be okay. Breathe okay, breathe.’ Lance’s head turned up to look at Shiro. ‘Breathe okay, yeah that’s right, good boy, calm that’s right.’ Lance, bless his heart was listening and nodding and starting to take deep breaths as deep as he could, sometimes breaking out in a cough or exhaling with a sob, Keith had joined in shushing and calming as best he could.

‘That’s enough.’ The guard next to the female Galra stated. Finally. Shiro was filled with so much relief. The Galra turned her head to look at the Guard, she was angry at being stopped, but it was clear that she was going to obey, she nodded in agreement.

‘He needs a doctor.’ Shiro demanded, stopping his attempts to keep Lance calm to make the order, He had no power over these Galra’s, and they were all at their mercy, but he was charged with grief for Lance and couldn’t control the electrifying fury coursing through him.  
The Galra women’s eyes cut to him, poison in her irises, she was genuinely offended by his demand and probably had every mind to refuse medical assistance; however, she turned back to Lance, looked down at him for a few ticks, then turned back to the guard, eyes questioning. The guards head moved once in a curt nod.

‘You humans are disgustingly weak.’ She sneered looking at Shiro like he was a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe. She then turned to the guard that had been stationed between him and Keith. ‘Get the doctor.’ She demanded. Just as quickly as they had appeared they were gone, the door making a loud bang as it closed behind them, key locking them in.

‘Lance?’ Shiro’s voice was desperate now, ‘can you talk? Can you hear me?’ Lance was laying on his side, right arm to his chest, eyes squeezed shut, just breathing, trying to control his breaths.

‘Lance?’ Keith asked

‘I’m…’ Lance started, panting ‘gunna be… okay.’ His voice sounded other, it was damaged and came out in a deep rattling croak.

‘Yeah, you’ll be fine Lance.’ Shiro said. ‘They’re getting a doctor for you, you’ll be patched up in no time.’

‘What I wanna…know.’ Lance said. Paused to chuckle (if it can be called that) to himself. ‘Is who pissed in her cereal?’

‘Lance’ Shiro said affection dripping in his voice, no way was Lance making light of what just happened.

‘Going by her attitude.’ Lance carried on. ‘I guess it was Blue.’ He laughed this time, but the laugh was cut short and turned into a groan.

‘Your ribs are probably broken’ Keith stated.

‘Thanks, genius.’ Lance snarked back, trying so hard to act normal.

‘Lance.’ Was all Keith could reply, he was so concerned.

‘Can you guys… play along please.’ Lance strained, trying hard to breathe through his pain. ‘I think I’m gonna have a panic atta-.‘ His breathing picked up again, Lance began mumbling, his breaths came in ragged puffs, he had turned, so his forehead was pressed against the cold floor. Shiro knew he had to calm him down, but he didn't know how! All he knew was that he had to try.

'Lance listen to my voice, okay Lance listen to my voice,' he pleaded. 'come on deep breaths through your nose, slow release through your mouth.' Shiro started to mimic his orders, he took deep inhales through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, 'like me Lance.' he said, an enthusiastic tilt to his voice. 'I'm here with you, for you, every step of the way buddy.' Lance's eyes locked with him, the look in his eyes was something small and wounded, the look in his eyes was like every victim that had come before Shiro in the arena, but there was also Lance in there, giving his all to grip onto reality. Lance, strong, brave, brilliant Lance, still there even in the darkest hour. When Shiro breathed through his nose he watched as Lance followed, eyes locked, trust permeable in the air between them, Shiro exhaled, Lance followed, shaky. 'That's right, good, good you're doing good.' Lance was still shaking violently from shock and blood loss, he looked so small, so young, so scared. Shiro wanted nothing more than to hold him than to take the pain away than to distract him.

'You know, when I was growing up, there was this stray cat that always followed me to school every day, the nuns always bought me cat food so I could feed her.' Shiro chuckled, soft, fake. 'I loved that cat, and as soon as I was 18 and living alone, I adopted her. You a cat person or a dog person Lance?'

'Why...choose.' Lance huffed, his eyes scrunching shut with the effort to breathe enough to talk 'when you can have both?'

'Good point.' Shiro replied, eyes softening and tension leaving his shoulders a tiny bit as Lance's breaths slowly but surely returned to normal. 'You ever had pets?'

'Is the cat a metaphor for Keith?' Lance rasped, and Shiro could guess it was a chuckle but Lance's voice was so wrecked it was hard to tell.

'No.' Keith huffed, it was defensive enough that Shiro knew that Lance would be satisfied with the response.

'I met Keith before I met the cat.' Shiro chuckled.

'You.' Lance breathed, Shiro watched as he tried to move from his side to his back, then freeze. Shiro imagined broken ribs stopped him from making another move and caught the breath in his lungs. 'Said something... about nuns?'

'I was an orphan.' Shiro stated. fact. No emotional attachment. He saw Lance still for a millisecond then exhale the breath in his lungs.

'Only took me having a panic attack for you to tell me.' Lance said, this time the laugh a little more resonant before it was cut short and replaced by a groan. 'Remind me... laughing is bad.'

'A laugh is feeling pretty good right now.' Keith commented.

'So, you ever had pets?' It wasn't that Shiro was particularly interested at the time, another time he would absorb any information about Lance that Lance would give him, but at that moment he probed to keep Lance talking, to keep Lance engaged and stop more panic.

'I had a fish.' Lance said, his eyes closed as if he imagined it, 'I really wanted a dog, so I could take it for walks and play with it but my Ma, she's super allergic, to fur, period, couldn't even handle a hamster.' There was a bittersweet smile on his lips, the type he always got when talking about his family.

'That's a shame.' Shiro commented.

'Not really, Ma always said... no need to get a dog when I gotta babysit my nephew. It's true, children are fun but so exhausting.' Lance wiped the sweat from his forehead.

'You feeling hot?' Keith asked, Shiro's eyes cut from Lance for the first time in what felt like forever to look at Keith, his eyes were large and round, focused on Lances face, his brows furrowed, worry oozed from every pore.

'It's boiling in here.' Lance said, and it wasn't, it was chilly, cool enough to be a little uncomfortable. 'It was always boiling at home, Ma never let us turn the ac on, too wasteful, never thought I'd miss it so much, but space is so cold all the time.' Shiro was getting really worried, Lance sounded unfocused, like he wasn't there, like he was drifting off back home. 'I miss my family.' He slurred, and dread set in, he was drifting and fast.

'Remind me, Lance, how many members did your family have?' There was a panicked tilt to Shiro's voice that he couldn't control.

'There was Ma, my two older siblings...um... their names were...something.' Lance hesitated, 'how old are they?' Lance's voice was soft, and his eyes were half-lidded "'m tir'd" he slurred as his eyes drifted slowly shut.

'Hey! Lance!? You with me buddy?' Shiro called, his heart stopping in his chest, Lance fell too quickly he was talking just fine, and suddenly he wasn't. Lance didn't respond, he lay silently across from them, Shiro's heart kickstarted and thrummed in his ears, 'He's been through a lot, must have just passed out.' he said aloud for Keith to hear, but he mostly said it to himself. 'The doctor will be here soon, he'll be okay.'

'Shiro.' Kieth started, 'what are we gonna do?' Shiro studied Keith, he was slumped against the wall defeated, wide eyes shimmering as they caught the light, his focus entirely on Lance.

'We're gonna get out of here is what we're gonna do.' Shiro said Keith was scared, his hands were slightly trembling, and his breathing sounded labored, Shiro wanted nothing more than to hug him then, hug the fear away like when they were kids, two orphans against the world. 'Keith look at me.' He said, his voice was soft and gentle trying to get Keith's attention. 'We getting out of here okay?' he promised. 'Lance will be fine, we'll make sure of it, okay? we're a team and a good one at that.' He tried to convey all the truth he could in his eyes as he stared into Keith's. 'You'll be okay.' He added.

'Yeah.' Keith replied. 'You're right, if anyone can do it, it's us.'

The doctor came soon after Lance had passed out. He wasn’t Galra, and he looked tired like he had been doing this job for too darn long. He was silent and went to work straight away, he started with Lances leg, he did the most basic job stitching it up, then to his neck, then his face. Without the pods, Lance was going to be left with a lot of scars on his face. When this was all over Shiro knew he’d carry them with pride. He knew Lance enough to know what he’d wear them like a badge. At that moment, however, in the cell with Lance passed out, after what they had just been through, Shiro wished with all his soul that not a single mark remained to remind him of it. That Shiro wouldn't have to see the scar on Lance's neck and remember the gutwrenching feeling of loss, wouldn't have to see a scar on his hairline and remember the blood and the unfocused eyes.

When all his wounds were stitched and wrapped the Doctor moved to his ribs, he felt around, fingers softly brushing over each rib like a scanner 'broken.' He mumbled and rummaged in his bag to pull out a small jar of ointment and rubbed it across is ribs before wrapping them in bandages also. He looked through the window of the cell door before looking at them, in a low rumbling voice he said 'This will aid his bone healing, I don't know how fast the effects are on your species, but make sure he acts like it's still broken. Otherwise, I'm dead.'

'Why are you-.'

'Helping?' the doctor interrupted, ' do I look like a Galra to you?' It was a rhetorical question, the Doctor was a tiny creature, he probably came up to Shiro's hips at most, he had four arms working on Lance, and his face was mostly occupied by one large eye. He had light blue fur covering his body, he was the furthest thing from Galra 'This is a prisoner ship, you were transferred here a few Varga ago.' The Doctor stopped, his eye shifted to the window again, and he silently moved onto lances arm. He rubbed the arm in the ointment too before wrapping it in a material that was tougher than bandages but not quite as solid as a cast was when set, already with most of the blood wiped off him Lance looked better.

'When I heard, I would have never guessed the new prisoners were Paladins of Voltron.' He whispered, his eye studying the window. 'There are thousands of prisoners here, the reason I'm not locked up is that I take care of the gladiators, I've seen too much, I was but a humble healer in my birthplace. I beg you, when you are rescued or when you escape, come back for us.' Shiro could feel vibrations on his chest at the deep rumble of the Doctor's voice, his eye slightly wet from unshed tears, a desperate man.

'Of course.' Shiro answered he had no doubt that they'd come back. The Doctor nodded curtly, then finished wiping the remaining bit of blood off of Lance's chin.

‘He needs antibiotics.’ Shiro pleaded when he saw that the doctor started packing his tools away.

‘I couldn't sneak it out.’ The old voice rumbled. ‘Even the ointment was a stretch, and that was an old medicine, some of the Galra have never heard of it. They're betting on him getting sick, they hope it'll be motivation for you’ The threat was clear as day. The doctor rested one of his four hands on Lance's forehead, closed his eyes and lightly ran his hands down Lance's body, stopping at his leg. 'The beginnings of an infection are already kicking in.' The doctor said, voice grave. ' If he doesn't get antibiotics soon, if not his life, he will lose his leg.' The news shocked both Shiro and Keith into silence, his worst dreams were coming true.

The doctor didn’t care for the silence as he started to take the armor off Lance and as swiftly as he could unchain him to put him in the standard Galra prisoner rags before chaining him up again. ‘I will inject you with a sedative so I can change you safely. I'm sorry, but I have to’ The doctor said, just a quick warning before Shiro felt a prick on his wrist from under the cuff.

‘What the hell-.’ He heard Kieth say but the effect was almost instant as Shiro started to feel impossibly light-headed, he thought he said something, but he couldn’t hear, his own voice sounded morphed around him and the Doctor's image distorted  
  
He dreamt of hands; long slender fingers in his hair. In his dreams, the heels of his feet are dug into the sand that was warm against his back. The ocean crashed against the shore lazily, somewhere in the distance he heard seagulls. In his dreams, brown skin is resting against his. He's home. Whatever that is, he never really had a home, but he's there now. The dream turns. Grey clouds are rolling in, the ocean crashes with meaning, the fingers are gone, blue eyes slipping through his fingers. He had to chase it, stop it, it'd be gone for good if he lost it now, he chased them into the ocean, and he was sinking, sinking, sinking.

Shiro woke with a start, gasping for air. The chains dug into his skin as he tugged and thrashed, there were tears in his eyes, the dream was already forgotten, but Shiro felt like mourning like he'd lost something dear. It took a moment for him to get his bearings, his mind was slow and his eyelids heavy. His head darted next to him where Keith was slumped against the wall still unconscious, the soot that had been on Keith's face from the explosion was cleaned up, and there were three pieces of medical tap shutting the cut Keith had had just above his eyebrow. Both of them, he realized, had been treated for their very minor injuries. He regarded Lance, where he lay, silent and still opposite him. He held his own breath as he waited to see the rise and fall of Lance's chest, panic rising at the back of his throat when he couldn't tell, then breath rushing out when he saw the slightest rise of Lance's chest. They were all still alive. Good. Now came the plan to escape. Shiro would stop at nothing, this he knew, he would get Keith and Lance back home. No matter what.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That guy, Slav was it? He always talked about different realities, 'infinite realities' he had said, they had visited one and things had been so different there. Maybe there was a reality where Lance had not been swept with a fever that kept getting harder to handle the longer he was awake, where Lance wasn’t worn down to his bones, where Lance had not been in such excruciating pain, maybe there was a reality where Lance would have believed him. Would have smiled, would have been happy they came after him, but in this reality, the reality where Lance was fighting a losing battle, the reality where Lance was pretty sure he was going to die sooner rather than later, Shiro's promise felt like a lie

His whole body was on fire; Lance couldn’t even distinguish what hurt more, his head was throbbing, his arm was throbbing, his leg - _Dear God_ , his leg- was radiating heat as it throbbed with each heartbeat. His lungs felt like they were tightly wrapped with thorns, every inhale felt like a stab, every movement felt like too much, every breath made him dread the next. He couldn’t believe that he was alive really, how was he still living? Even before that Galra had walked into their cell Lance had been barely hanging onto his consciousness from the blood loss, had wondered if he would survive long enough for the rescue. It could have been hours since he had sustained his injuries, it was hard to tell when he had spent most of the time unconscious. An open wound like that was a gaping invitation for bacteria, and not just any bacteria, space bacteria, Lance’s least favorite kind. He had seen Coran get the slipperies okay? Space bacteria was something else. The beginnings of an infection were already setting in, he had a temperature he was sure, his head was throbbing, but that could also have been the concussion. If it weren't the crash, being kicked in the face would surely do it.

It was official.

Lance was having the shittiest day. He felt like death, he wondered when it would take him. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, and Coran were awesome, but Lance probably had a matter of days at most and hours at least.

  
Consciousness came to him in steps. First came the pain, crashing through his dreamless sleep like a freight train, all at once, all-consuming. He couldn’t scream, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t even open his eyes. His heart stuttered from it, his breath shuddered, caught in his throat before movement kicked in and he coughed it out, his lungs screamed, his ribs screamed, his  _leg_  screamed. The breath rushed out in a throaty, deep groan that he couldn't recognize. His eyes opened only to squeeze shut as the light felt like it shot straight through his eye sockets to strike his brain. The headache was killer. He thought he heard Shiro and Keith, he couldn't really catch what they were saying, but his mind recognized their familiar tones, he'd know their voices anywhere. Now, Lance would sooner shoot himself in the face than to ever admit that their voices - even Keith's- had a rush of familiarity ease his nerves. They were here with him, he wasn’t alone, they were here, and he could feel his heartbeat regulate, if only a little, the previous palpitations felt like his heart was trying to beat out of his ribcage, attempting to make an escape before it was too late. All it took was their voices, and he felt like he could breathe again.

He needed a few beats before he dared to cracked his eyes open, seeing their faces right about now would feel nice. He squinted against the light and turned his head, the room was spinning, his stomach was twisting, his head told him 'stop moving, ' but his heart said 'I wanna see them.' Keith was right opposite him in the cell, a blur at first, a small mass of color against the bigger mass of purple. Lance blinked, blinked again, willed his eyes to focus until he could see Large frightened violet eyes staring at him, Keith’s body was leaning forward, desperate, trying to get closer. His lips were moving, and he looked like he was shouting something but his words distorted in the air before they reached Lance. Lance's gaze shifted to Shiro. Now here’s the thing about Shiro. He’s strong, even when he’s weak he’s strong. He was Lance’s hero. Before, when he was perfect and when he was goals and when he was powerful, and he was unattainable; and after, when he was damaged, and he was hunted, and he was still strong, but the power didn’t feel so flawless, didn’t feel so unreal. In fact, Shiro’s power was raw and passionate and safe. He was so very human, he was so very genuine, and he tried so hard to be 'Strong-Fearless-leader,' 'Stable-Controlled-Hero' but Lance could see through that, he could always see through it. Here’s the thing though, to know Shiro was scared and sad and miserable underneath his leader-hat was not the same as to see it. Shiro was looking at Lance in a way that Lance could only ever vaguely remember looking before. A time where Lance was pretty sure he was dying from the burns on his body, but he hadn’t been lucid enough back then to focus on the way Shiro’s eyes glistened with pain, hadn’t had time to focus on the terrified twist in his brows, the downturn of his lips. Shiro looked heartbroken. Lance was sorry, he knew, deep down that this wasn’t his fault, but still, he was sorry.

‘Lance.’ He called, quite but it didn’t get distorted in the air, it was fragile, shaky. It worked like a trigger, and Keith’s voice made its way to him too.

‘Lance, can you hear me? Can you talk? Hey, hey stay with us, stay awake, Lance, Lance!’

‘Oh my god.’ Lance whined, his voice sounded like it wasn’t his, it was strangled, and rough, and thick. Lance didn't think about what had happened, nope, he couldn't handle that right about now,  _that_  would get locked up for him to deal with later, maybe when he was dead. ‘Will you shut up?’ Lance's eyes shifted from Shiro to Keith, worried violet eyes turned to offended violet eyes, and Lance kind of wanted to high five himself because Keith didn’t look like a sad, concerned puppy anymore he looked like Keith and Lance liked that a lot better.

‘I’m worried sick over here!?’ Keith exclaimed.

‘Correction.’ Lance groaned, ‘you’re loud as quiznak, over there.’

  
‘That’s not even how you use that word.’ Keith groaned, shifting back to moody quite Keith. Lance liked quite Keith, quite Keith’s voice didn’t make Lance’s headache worse.

‘I’ll show you how you use that word.’ Lance grumbled back, even the damage to his voice didn’t hide the snarky tone. Lance's gaze shifted back to Shiro, maybe it was because Shiro was their leader, maybe it was because Shiro was always a protective and supportive friend, maybe it was that look in Shiro’s eyes that saw through Lance just like Lance could see through him. Maybe it was because Lance’s body was broken and the mask just couldn’t stay on like this, it just couldn’t. Lance couldn’t be sure but any irritation towards Keith flushed out and any joke he had on the tip of his tongue to wipe the sadness from Shiro’s eyes died. Lance needed help, he needed saving, and Lance needed a good old Hunk-hug. Lance could feel his eyes begin to water, which was totally not happening right now, his eyes darted to the ceiling, he blinked and blinked again, he was not going to cry he wasn’t, nope, not today.

‘Lance.’ Shiro’s voice came, his name started to feel like a word that wasn’t a word anymore once you repeated it too many times. Lance closed his eyes, thought about Hunk stuffing his face with pancakes, thought of Pidge accidentally electrocuting herself, thought of Coran, he didn’t even need to think of anything funny, Coran was hilarious as an entity, thought of Allura playing with the mice. He wasn’t here for a second, he was in the castle. He wasn’t in pain for a second, he was laughing. Still, his imagination wasn’t that good, all it took was a breath, and the pain in his ribs ripped him back into the cell.

‘Shiro.’ He said, voice weak and trembling with the tears he refused to shed. ‘It hurts.’

‘I know, I know buddy. Hey, look at me.’ Shiro urged. Lance's eyes darted back to meet Shiro’s. He had his leader-hat on again, his eyes steady, confident. ‘We’re gonna get out of this, okay?’ Lance wasn’t sure that help would come in time for him.

‘Don’t feel so good.’ Lance mumbled ‘'s Hard to breathe.’ He saw Shiro’s eyebrows furrowing, he could hear Keith shift.

‘what else?’ Shiro urged.

‘Hot, it’s too hot.’ Lance replied, he was sweating in his rags, he didn’t know when it was that he was changed. ‘My leg is on fire.’

‘It’s gonna be okay Lance.’ Shiro consoled, ‘we’ll figure something out okay? We’ll get out of here and get you in a pod.’

‘I don’t know man.’ Lance began because he didn’t. He didn’t know if he was gonna join them when they got out.

‘I promise you.’ Shiro assured. ‘I’m getting us out of here, one way or another.’ There was a moment that dragged into two where Lance stared into Shiro’s eyes reaching for understanding, searching for the truth. Stability was what met him, Shiro believed his words like Lance’s survival was set in stone; like he refused to believe any outcome that didn’t result in all of them making it out.

  
That guy, Slav was it? He always talked about different realities, 'infinite realities' he had said, they had visited one and things had been so different there. Maybe there was a reality where Lance had not been swept with a fever that kept getting harder to handle the longer he was awake, where Lance wasn’t worn down to his bones, where Lance had not been in such excruciating pain, maybe there was a reality where Lance would have believed him. Would have smiled, would have been happy they came after him, but in this reality, the reality where Lance was fighting a losing battle, the reality where Lance was pretty sure he was going to die sooner rather than later, Shiro's promise felt like a lie. He didn’t want to die, he really didn’t. Lance was praying over and over for a miracle. Prayed that Pidge had sneaked a tracker into Shiro’s uniform, prayed that Blue could sense him across the universe, prayed that the collar around Shiro’s mechanical arm failed, prayed for something, anything, so he could get out of this. Wished for something, anything that could make sure the rest of the team survived this, made it out of this fight and won this war so he could see his mum, at least one last time, at least one final hug. He was just so hot, and his head was getting so fuzzy, the purple around Shiro started to swirl a little.

‘Shiro, I feel like I’m-‘

‘Just believe in me.’ Shiro pleaded. ‘Okay Lance, just believe that I would never let you down! I won’t fail you, I won’t!' even as a blur of color against a bigger blur of purple Shiro illustrated so much emotion, so much passion. 'You’re gonna be okay. Can you believe in me?’

‘Shiro-‘

‘Can you?’ Shiro was desperate now, Lance could tell. It hit him then, Shiro would probably stop at nothing. Shiro, the garrison hero, was desperate to save them. Shiro: Voltron leader, swore that they would get out of this, when had Shiro ever let him down? Never, that’s when. Keith was there too, and who better to make the impossible possible than Shiro and Keith. A momentary surge of relief washed over him, maybe that miracle he had been praying for was Shiro and Keith coming after him after all.

‘yeah,’ Lance mumbled so quietly Shiro almost didn’t hear him ‘I trust you.’ Lance tried to blink his vision back into focus at the sight of Shiro. His head started spinning, there was one Shiro than two then three then too many to count. His vision distorted and blurred, his stomach lurched into a sudden wave of nausea that twisted and had saliva collect in his mouth before he turned his body, so his back faced his teammates, his stomach cramped up and he heaved and threw up. Lance wretched violently and it felt like every wound was reopening, his broken arm dangled behind him limp and forgotten, his broken ribs throbbed, the simple movement sending a bolt down his body, taking his breath away, the pain came in sharp focus as his body quivered where it lay. His eyes stung at the bile burning in his throat and the agony of his wounds. He had snot and tears running down his face, drool down his chin as he spat on the floor once more before he collapsed onto his back, making sure to shift away from the pile of vomit. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to ebb down nausea, he took deep breaths through his nose and released them through his mouth, he was ignoring everything focusing instead on all the things his mum had taught him about panic attacks, tried to remember all the ways she told him to calm himself. It took a few dobashes for Lance to come back from the edge. He fisted at the material of his top and bought it up to his face and wiped the mess off it. He lay there, silently for a while, he could hear Keith and Shiro talking to each other, maybe devising a plan, there was urgency in their tone, but Lance couldn’t make himself focus. His eyes followed the cracks in the ceiling, counting the bolts absent-minded. He felt incredibly lightheaded like any moment he was going to pass out. He tried not to think about how he didn’t have long. He could feel himself drifting away, his head was a mix of sounds that came in and out of focus. He heard 'Lance, you with me?' he heard 'They bring in food and water every 6 hours.' he heard 'when I strike you then go and-' he heard 'He might lose his leg.' he heard 'Shiro I'm terrified.' he heard 'For Lance.' Then he heard nothing, the bolts in the ceiling blurred into a black void the fire in his limbs floated way. For a moment he thought  _am I dying_  and a voice at the back of his head said  _Maybe_.

  
                                                                                                                      ......

  
Lance's face had pissed Keith off from the moment they had met. Not because it was a particularly bad face, it was quite nice  _objectively_  speaking. The thing was it was attached to a big, loud, mouth, and was always in his personal space. Look at me, I'm Lance. Look at me, I'm better than you. Look at me Shiro, look how I pilot better than Keith. Since Keith doesn't really remember Garrison Lance, he separated his and Lance's relationship onto to eras. There was pre-Shiro going MIA and post- Shiro going MIA. See, before Shiro disappeared Lance and Keith were barely friends, there was that deep care that all the team had for each other, the kind of affection that naturally would develop when you're fighting for your life together every day. The type of love that grew when you pull someone out of a certain-death situation or devise plans together. Us against them. It was like being in the orphanage with Shiro when they were kids, us against the world, but now 'us' was seven people, and he wasn't really friends with them all (Lance) like siblings aren't always friends but they  _loved_  each other. Pre disappearance Keith and Lance were at each other's throats. Lance was unbearable, obnoxious and that god damned face was always in his space and that god damned mouth was so loud.

Keith had trouble forming bonds, he cared, but he still felt like an outsider, even within the 'us,' Keith felt himself pull back. He felt the distance he put, the line he drew in the sand. On one side was Shiro and him, alone and abandoned, on the other side was everyone else. At arm's length. Then Shiro disappeared, and Keith started digging at the line and made a moat. In a plot twist that no one could have predicted, Lance was the one to step up. Keith knew Lance was hurting, after all, he kinda worshipped Shiro, but in the wake of his disappearance, Lance was the rock. He took care of everyone.  _He took care of Keith_. All that antagonism shit, all that obnoxious nonsense all that bravado made way for comfort. For Lance's hand on his shoulder telling him it was gonna be okay, that they were a team, for Lance to build a bridge over the moat. 'us' meant 'us,' Keith was no longer on the outside of us. Keith would have never guessed, when he first met Lance with his stupid face and his loud mouth all up in his space, that he would be sat staring at it in a cell, unable to pull his eyes away. Every twitch, every drop of sweat, every unconscious huff struck terror in him. He watched his chest and counted the seconds between breaths.

It had been two days since they were captured, Lance had been coming in and out of consciousness, at times delirious, at times not. Keith wasn't sure which was worse. When Lance was delirious he was calling out for his mother; he was talking to his siblings and reminiscing about the good old times when he was 5, and his mum would kiss the boo-boo better. When he was not he was in pain, and he was scared, and he was sorry, he was so sorry for getting them into this mess, and no matter how much Shiro insisted it wasn't his fault it didn't get through. However bad that was, he was at least conscious, but Keith was getting really scared, Lance hadn't been awake for half a day, Keith had even thrown his shoe at him again, but even that was ineffective.

'what if-' Keith began to say.

'He'll be fine.' Keith had realized a while back that Shiro was either faking it till he made it or he was in denial. Keith could clearly see Shiro watching Lance breathe with such concentrated intensity as if taking his eyes off him for even a second would mean he'd pass away while they weren't watching.

That would be a Lance thing to do, after all. Hold out till they weren't watching and then let go.

The fall out when Shiro had disappeared was never something that was discussed. After all, they were on the mend when they were reunited; there was nothing for Shiro to really fix, besides his own demons.

  
_you were gone long enough for us to miss you_

  
Looking at Lance, lying silently opposite him, Keith was suddenly hit with the  _need_  to tell Shiro how his loss affected them. Felt a  _need_  to explain Lance's behavior to him

'Earlier, what Lance said about us missing you.' Keith started, uncertainty making his voice weak.

'No need to defend him, Keith,' Shiro interrupted, but kept his focus on Lance ' I already understand.'

'but you don't, Shiro, when you were gone-' Keith's voice was soft like he was sharing a secret, 'Lance, he really stepped up.' Shiro turned his head towards Keith, though his eyes hesitated on Lance for a few extra seconds before focusing their attention on Keith. 'I completely pulled away from the team, Pidge wasn't sleeping, Hunk was in meltdown mode we were fracturing.' It was hard thinking about it, the first couple weeks after Shiro had disappeared had been brutal and empty. 'You wanted me to lead, but you were wrong. It was a role I never wanted, and I was so busy mourning that... now looking back, Lance never gave himself the time. It was like his head said okay act now cry later or something. He pulled everyone out of it; he pulled  _me_  out of it. If it weren't for him, you would have come back to a broken Voltron.'

  
'He did?' Shiro asked, choked up.

  
'He was probably crushed, but he pulled himself together for the sake of the team. we cant lose him.'

  
'I know.' Shiro whispered. His eyes shifted back onto Lance, there as an impossibly soft look in them as he gazed at Lance's form. It was a look he'd notice Shiro give Lance for a while now, soft, delicate like he was looking at a sunrise for the first time, something in Keith's chest squeezed, was it sadness? Was it trepidation?

  
'Shiro?' He called, unsure of what he wanted to ask.

  
'hmm?' Shiro replied without taking his eyes off Lance.

  
'Do you... by any chance...'

  
Lance, a lover of interruptions, began to seize. It was terrifying, his body looked like he was a man possessed and Keith had never seen someone have a seizure. He'd seen so much in his life so many horrific scenes as a warrior of the universe, but he had never seen someone have a seizure. The cuffs around Lance's wrist rattled as his body shook. Distantly he noted Shiro bellow for help, for a Galra or sentries to come and save Lance. Keith was stunned into silence, frozen in place. What if the Galra refuse to help? What if they spare Lance only if they were given information as payment. Truth be told Keith wondered if the crew were even at the rendezvous point. They were probably chasing leads at is point right? Would they get hurt if Keith told the Galra? The situation was this; tell the Galra and hope the crew were unharmed, or, stay silent and watch Lance die. It was an impossible choice. The blade of meamora would have let Lance die, no problem. No one would risk the safety of the universe for one person. When this whole 'Voltron' thing started the decision would have been easy for Keith too. 'It was good while it lasted buddy, say hi to my dad on the other side.' Now, his brain said  _shut up_ , but his heart was ripping into two, and then into four and then into eight.

Keith wasn't aware of the time passing, but it could have only been seconds before a Galra soldier opened their cell door and walked through with the doctor following behind. Where the Galra guard was unfazed the doctor was hasty waiting for Lance's seizure to stop before checking his vitals, a little flashlight checking Lances eyes, and then the hand scanned down his body, before it hovered over the injured leg. His face was grave as he looked at the Guard. For a creature with one eye, the doctor conveyed a lot in one look. There was fury crashing down in waves, there was hopelessness drowning in the depths.  _Not good_  Keith thought.

'He needs surgery, now.' The doctor said to the guard, lonely brow furrowed, eye pleading.

'If he doesn't?' Shiro couldn't help but ask. The doctor's eye said sorry before his mouth did.

'He will die.' Fact. Inevitable. Unstoppable. For as much as Keith was thinking it, having a doctor state it was a whole different thing, it felt like the doctor's words surrounded Keith like toxic fog and sucked the breath right out of his lungs. He was in pain.

  
In real pain. This was real, Lance,  _Lance_  was going to die.

'The Human will not be seen to until his companions tell me what I want to know.' Keith's head almost violently snapped to the door to follow the source of the voice. There in her muscular build and superior armor stood the Galra from earlier. Her shoulders were broad and her strong arms muscular. Her face was hard, all angles and dark lines. The bitch that had had the time of her life beating Lance. A toxic rage erupted from Keith's chest, that spread seething red fury before his eyes.  when Keith got free, he would kill her first.

'We cant tell you what we don't know!' Shiro erupted, angrier then Keith ever remembered seeing him. 'I'll do anything! Okay, I'll do anything but please...please help him!' reducing Shiro to begging, another thing was added to reasons to kill her.

  
'Then tell me what I want to know!' She was losing her patience, and it was quite funny really. She thought she was angry, but her anger paled to Keith's burning rage. She'll see, she'll see what it means to feel anger.

'You think our team is waiting quietly for us to return?' Keith spat, 'You want to see them so bad? Just wait for a little and they'll come knocking!' Now, was this smart? No, but, did Keith have any control right about now? Also no. He'd take a beating for his words if he had to he had been biting his tongue for too damn long. The Galra looked furious, and even still her anger paled to his own, she was making a move towards him when Shiro's loud and demanding voice filled the room.

'We don't know the information that you want, but... anything... I'll do anything, just let him live, save him, and I will do whatever you want.' The Galra's face twisted into an ugly expression that read loud and clear that there was absolutely nothing she could ever want from Shiro, he was nothing, he was worthless, his offer was meaningless.

  
Another Galra entered the cell, the same one from earlier when Lance had been tortured, he stood at the doorway, back straight, face emotionless. He surveyed the cell, his eyes going back and forth between Lance and the female Galra. His presence seemed to command the room, everyone, even the female Galra, stopped what they were doing to look at him. Last time he had been standing back, watching the whole affair, the same as any other guard. It was apparent now that he was important.

  
'Urvine.' His low voice vibrated off the walls, 'what is going on here?'

  
The female guard, Urvine, stood taller, straighter. 'I'm interrogating the prisoners, Euruos.' Euruos regarded her; his sharp eyes sent a chill down Keith's spin, his Sharp eyes screamed  _danger, danger, danger_.

  
'Is that so?' He asked. He had been there, after all, when Urvine was having the time of her life while squeezing the life out of Lance. Without taking his eyes off of Urvine, he turned his head toward the doctor. 'Dr. Flore, whats wrong with the blue one?' The doctor rushed to his feet immediately before bowing at a ninety-degree angle before replying.

  
'Antibiotics were held back by Lady Urvine's request because of this, the Paladin is in a critical condition because of an infection.'

  
'Will he live?'

'I can't be certain, but we need to treat him right away sir.' Euruos' eyes were positively furious, glaring Urvine down.

  
'You cant interrogate someone who is dead.' He stated, before taking his eyes off her and regarding the doctor and guard. 'Well? what are you waiting for take him, make sure he lives, Haggar will want to see each one of them when we arrive.'

  
'Brother.' Urvine hissed taking a step towards him. As the Galra Gaurd unchained Lance's now limp body and flung him over his shoulder, the Dr. Flore stood close by as if worried Lance night slip off, his arms slightly raised and hoovering around Lance as they walked out. Keith felt relief wash over him, praying and begging to a god he didn't believe in that Lance would be okay. 'I had it under control.' Urvine said. Keith couldn't be sure, but this felt like a sibling rivalry, not that he knew what it was like to have a sibling. There was a long moment where nothing was said, maybe they were speaking through their eyes Keith wasn't sure, could siblings communicate through eye contact?

'I'm disappointed.' Euruos finally stated before curtly turning on his heels and leaving Urvine alone with them. With her back towards them, Keith couldn't see her face, but her shoulders were shaking, and Keith was filled with apprehension. She stole a moment to calm herself, her shoulders quit trembling, she stood straight, then and only then did she turn around. Face blank, shoulders relaxed, a perfect mask.

  
'If you can't tell me where to find them, then I will make you tell me  _how_  to find them.' It wasn't a threat; it was a promise. Keith felt a shiver travel down his spin; things were about to turn to shit.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like the first chapter, I will aim to update every week. So yeah, it's in the tags but lots of violence in this fic just another warning it gets worse.


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